Six days in Penang

Penang Island was the first place I visited on my first trip to Malaysia over 30 years ago. What I remember best from that trip was the time we spent snorkeling on the Perhentian Islands. Those islands are much more popular and developed now, and I knew I didn’t want to go back there. But after reading The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, I was excited to go back to Penang.

Penang has a lot to offer: Indian, Chinese, and Malay cultures, Thai and Burmese Buddhist temples, British colonial architecture. It’s quite the variety in a small, accessible area. Where to start? With the Indians, because, well, their food was the best! Heavy, rich north Indian curries in the equatorial heat? Yes! and loved them. The bread was fantastic.

IMG_20250318_124542 by bryandkeith on flickr

This Tamil meal reminded me a bit of Sri Lanka, still my favorite country for eating. There’s even bitter gourd and moringa on the plate here.

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Bicycle touring Thailand: from Koh Kradan south to Malaysia

Ferda and I are pretty lazy bicycle tourists. We rode with Jack for about three weeks from Cha-Am to Krabi. Then we spent the next three weeks island hopping with more time sitting on the beach than sitting in the saddle. After a week on Koh Kradan we pedaled four days to Kangar, the largest city in Malayia’s smallest state, Perlis.

In these last days in Thailand we were reminded of the good things about bicycle touring here: it’s very easy to be in Thailand, the food is good, the hotels are clean and comfortable, and the people are wonderful. We never did find an adventurous side like in Sulawesi or the Philippines. Whether that’s an advantage or disadvantage depends, I suppose, on your point of view.

On the boat from Koh Kradan to Kuangtungku we got some views of Koh Muk. We’d heard good things about staying there.

20250314_085449 by bryandkeith on flickr

That evening we found a great hotel in Yan Ta Khao

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A week on Koh Kradan

With the excuse to practice the freediving skills that we learned on Koh Lanta, Ferda and I spent a week at Ao Niang Resort on Koh Kradan. I had read that Ao Niang has some of the best beach-accessible snorkeling in Thailand. It’s the best I’ve seen, but that doesn’t say much. There was enough in the water to entertain us for a week. The coral’s not great, but I have lots of lousy photos to give an idea of the creatures you might see underwater at Ao Niang.

Above ground is kind of pretty. Here’s Ao Niang Beach with the resort bungalows.

20250314_081902 by bryandkeith on flickr
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A week on Koh Lanta

We continued our island hopping, less cycling, and a little snorkeling — from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta. A week on Koh Lanta went by really quickly. Ferda and I spent three days taking a freediving course with Lion at Phoenix Divers in Ban Sala Dan, the same town where the ferry from Phi Phi dropped us on Lanta. We had a classroom day, a pool day, and an open sea day. Mostly we learned techniques: relaxation breathing, duck dives, kicking with long fins. In the pool we did both static apnea (how long can you hold your breath under water?) and dynamic apnea (how far can you travel underwater with fins?). In the open water we practiced our duck dives and rescuing a disabled diver from 5m. Our goal was to learn a bit to improve our snorkeling. Along the way we earned PADI freediver certification for whatever that’s worth.

Here’s Ferda rescuing our instructor, Lion.

PICA0052 by bryandkeith on flickr

As a little bonus, almost as soon as we had completed all our skills tests for the certificates, a zebra shark swam under us.

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Touristy Thailand: Krabi, Railay, Phi Phi

What a difference this week was from our first three weeks in Thailand — from cycling through rural areas to tourist hotspots. We found the tourists at Tiger Cave Temple before even getting to the center of Krabi.

20250222_114541 by bryandkeith on flickr
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